THE FAMILIES AND GENERA OF BATS. 
243 
orbital processes; premaxillaries with nasal branches present or ab- 
sent, when present forming two palatal foramina, when absent 
allowing the formation of one ; posterior orifice of antorbital canal not 
enlarged ; teeth normal ; ears’ variable in size and form, sometimes 
joined across forehead, the tragus much reduced, the antitragus usu- 
ally very large, the anterior border of auricle never with basal lobe; 
muzzle obliquely truncate, usually sprinkled with short, modified 
hairs with spoon-shaped tips,® the nostrils usually opening on a 
special pad, the upper surface of which is often set with fine horny 
excrescences; wing narrow; the fifth finger much shortened; mem- 
branes thick and leathery, the uropatagium short, the tail projecting 
conspicuously beyond its free edge. 
History . — This group has been recognized as a distinct family by 
Peters, Gill, and Ameghino. By most other writers it has been re- 
garded as of subordinate rank. Gray placed it in 1821 among the 
* Noctilionidse,’ a family including the ‘ Molosses,’ ‘ Nyctinomes,’ 
; Stenodermes,’ and .■ Vampyre,’ of Geoff roy. Ten years later it was 
joined with the Vespertilionidse by Bonaparte, where it was retained 
by subsequent authors, including Gray, in 1838, until 1865, when 
Peters first made it a distinct family. In 1866 Gray reverted to his 
family Noctilionidae, now modified to contain the subfamilies Noc- 
tilionina, Mystacina, Mormopsina, Phyllodiana ( L Phyllodia ,’ Chi- 
lonyoteris , and Pteronotus ) , Spectrellina, and Molossina. Dobson 
united it with the Mystacinse to form the subfamily Molossinse, of the 
family Emballonuridse, the other groups of equal rank being the Noc- 
tiliones, Khinopomata, Tapliozoi, and Emballonurae, these four con- 
stituting the subfmily Emballurinse. The same arrangement, slightly 
modified, was repeated in the 6 Catalogue of Chiroptera,’ and has re- 
mained in general use until now, though not adopted by Gill in 1886, 
and conspicuously departed from by Winge in 1891. 
Remarks . — The characters of the leg and wing seem quite sufficient 
to warrant the recognition of the Molossidae as a family distinct from 
the Vespertilionidse. In the perfect development of the double articu- 
lation of the shoulder joint, together with the great narrowing of the 
wing, this family represents the extreme phase of the series of modi- 
fications through which the anterior limb of the Chiroptera has 
passed. The peripheral position of the group is further indicated by 
the structure of the leg, in which the fibula has become a functional 
part of the mechanical scheme, an arrangement which, except in the 
related family Mystacopidse, is not known to occur elsewhere among 
bats. 
o .Tablonowski, Abh. u. Ber. d. k. Zool. u. Anthrop.-Ethn. Mus. zu Dres- 
den, VII, 1899, No. 7, pp. 32-55, pis. x, xi. 
